We begin with Plato for two reasons. First, he vividly represents a possible and important social-political perspective which we might call elitism, rule by a select few. Second, he is an excellent example of the way in which philosophers have conceived social-political issues not only as a necessary part of the philosophical enterprise but also as closely connected with other philosophical issues. It says something very important about Plato that his most famous work, and indeed possibly the most famous work in the history of philosophy, was called the Republic. It was a book about the state. Well, Yes and No. At least it was a book which showed how social-political issues can be all bound up with other philosophical concerns, such as ethics, meta- physics, epistemology, and even art.
Plato certainly did have a particular (some would say peculiar) view of the state, and a view that had everything to do with his view of reality and knowledge. In the Republic Plato considered several political theories of his own time and rejected them. Whether or not we too reject them, it will do us no harm to review them. Moving from bad to worse, Plato first rejected timocracy, by which he meant the rule by those who are primarily motivated by ambition and honor. In such rulers, an inferior part of the soul, the spirited and emotional part, has gained dominance. He also rejected oligarchy or plutocracy, the rule by the rich. A preoccupation with wealth is even more base than a preoccupation with honor, and, moreover, the rule by the wealthy would inevitably bring about alienation and class warfare between ”the haves” and ”the have-nots.”
Next he rejected democracy as yet a further degeneration of government, though he meant by this word something different from what we today understand by it. For Plato, in a smallish city-state like that of Athens, democracy meant the actual and equal participation of every citizen in the affairs of state, rather than participation by representation, But this is to reduce government to the lowest common denominator – as Plato saw it, when we have majority rule we have mob rule. Finally, and worst of all, Plato rejects despotism, or tyranny, or dictatorship, the absolute rule of a single individual. Of course there may be such a thing as a ”benevolent dictator,” but, Plato believed, never for long. According to Lord Acton’s famous saying, ”All power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Eventually, such a ruler will be ruled by the very worst in himself, resulting in gross injustice and loss of the personal liberty that government ought to ensure.
Well then, what? Plato’s answer: aristocracy. Again, however, Plato did not mean by this term what is today usually meant. When we hear the word ”aristocracy” we think of the nobility class, as in the expression ”the landed aristocracy.” But the word itself simply means ”rule of the best,” and that is exactly what Plato favored – the rule of the best. And who are the best? Those who are enlightened with regard to reality, truth, and goodness. And who are these? Why, philosophers, of course – those who have emerged from the darkness of the Cave and have beheld the Good. Plato himself calls this the central thesis of the Republic: ”Philosophers must be kings.” A philosopher-king. It is difficult to say just how seriously one is to take Plato’s proposal, though it is known that he himself tried to implement such a philosopher- kingship in Syracuse. But taking it as seriously as we can, not everyone will be thrilled with the announcement that philosophers must rule over the rest. In the first place, not everyone shares a Platonic conception of reality, truth, etc., and thus not everyone could agree with Plato as to just who the true philosophers are. Furthermore, any form of intellectual aristocracy would fail to gain the consent of a large segment of a society which is always suspicious of the ”egghead” elite. You may have heard the pronouncement: ”I would rather be governed by the first twenty names in the Boston telephone directory than all the professors at Harvard.”
From: Questions That Matter
Miller, L (ed.), 1996
Since an ideal society will be ruled by those of its citizens who are most aware of what really matters, it is vital to consider how that society can best raise and educate its philosophers. Platosupposed that under the usual haphazard methods of childrearing, accidents of birth often restrict the opportunities for personal development, faulty upbringing prevents most people from achieving everything of which they are capable, and the promise of easy fame or wealth distracts some of the most able young people from the rigors of intellectual pursuits. But he believed that those with the greatest ability—that is, people with a natural disposition fit for philosophical study—must receive the best education, engaging in a regimen of mental discipline that grows more strict with every passing year of their lives.
Having already described the elementary education and physical training that properly occupy the first twenty years of the life of prospective guardians, Plato applied his account of the structure of human knowledge in order to prescribe the disciplined pursuit of their higher education.
It naturally begins with mathematics, the vital first step in learning to turn away from the realm of sensible particulars to the transcendent forms of reality. Arithmetic provides for the preliminary development of abstract concepts, but Plato held that geometry is especially valuable for its careful attention to the eternal forms. Study of the (mathematical, not observational) disciplines of astronomy and harmonics encourage the further development of the skills of abstract thinking and proportional reasoning.
Only after completing this thorough mathematical foundation are the future rulers of the city prepared to begin their study of philosophy, systematizing their grasp of mathematical truth, learning to recognize and eliminate all of their presuppositions, and grounding all genuine knowledge firmly on the foundation of their intuitive grasp of the reality of the Forms. Finally, an extended period of apprenticeship will help them to learn how to apply everything they have learned to the decisions necessary for the welfare of the city as a whole. Only in their fifties will the best philosophers among them be fit to rule over their fellow-citizens.
http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/2h.htm
Questions:
1. For each of the following: (1) say what it is for Plato, and (2) why Plato rejected it a political system.: timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, despotism.
2. Explain the ideas of 'aristocracy' and the philosopher king.
[Index]